The RT video below discusses a new Xbox Kinect app called SimSensei that can allegedly “diagnose depression”, but what they fail to mention is that this is a DARPA project named “SIM Sensei” mentioned in a one year old Wired article, see below. It was allegedly designed to help soldiers in military hospitals with PTSD.

When I first saw the Xbox Kinect I believed it would be used for data mining people in their own homes, now I’m sure it.

SimSensei is a DARPA funded project co-created by Cognito Health, an MIT spin off company, and the USC Institute For Creative Technologies (ICT). Cognito Health was originally involved in an earlier DARPA project that did massive data mining of social media to find out “how the Afghanistan War was going” in the public eye.

This is very reminiscent of the movie THX 1138, see clip below. The movie featured virtual psychiatrists that pretend to listen to patient’s problems but their real function is to prescribe massive amounts of drugs… probably what this program will be doing in about ten years.

The Microsoft Xbox was thought to be known for gaming alone, but now a new system for the electronic console can diagnose depression with 90 percent accuracy. The system known as SimSensi uses an interactive avatar to conduct verbal interviews with the user and it monitors movement and responses. RT’s Meghan Lopez tells us more.

While state and federal lawmakers frantically push for massive mental health reform and sweeping gun control laws, two Connecticut mothers recently took to the streets of Newtown, connecting with local residents and gathering signatures on a petition that asks a simple but essential question—did prescription psychiatric drugs play a role in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting?

Seems like an easy and obvious question that, remarkably, has escaped the consideration of legislators who seem hell-bent on legislating increased mental health services without first having all the necessary information to make thoughtful, fact-based decisions.

Sheila Matthews, co-founder of AbleChild, a national parents’ rights organization, and Newtown resident, Patricia Sabato, went one-on-one with local residents to collect hundreds of signatures requesting the release of the complete autopsy/toxicology results and medical/psychiatric records of alleged shooter, Adam Lanza.

Sheila Matthews has appeared on TV numerous times, including on CNN, NBC and Fox. She has been interviewed on many talk radio programs and has been featured in major newspapers and magazines.

The Petition further points out that 22 international drug regulatory warnings have been issued on psychiatric drugs causing violent behavior, including mania, psychosis and homicidal ideation. Additionally, between 2004-2011, there were nearly 13,000 reports to the FDA’s MedWatch system of psychiatric drugs causing violent side effects, including homicide, mania and aggressive behavior.

Both Matthews and Sabato were gratified by the community’s support. “The vast majority of the people were really supportive of our efforts,” says Matthews. “They were really engaged,” continued Matthews, “and they wanted, and felt like, they had a right to know if Lanza was on drugs.”

Sabato mimics Matthews’ sentiments. “A lot of people,” says Sabato, “actually congratulated us for doing the petition.” “The people of Newtown,” explains Sabato, “know there is more to this story and, though they are tired of hearing Lanza’s name, they still want to know everything that may have played a part in his actions.”

Sheila Matthews with former Congressman Ron Paul, who stated, “Too many children are suffering from being prescribed psychotropic drugs for nothing more than children’s typical rambunctious behavior.”

Despite the fact that, under Connecticut law, Carver is statutorily required to respond to the request, to date, the Medical Examiner has refused to even acknowledge receipt of the request, let alone release the requested information.

Certainly there are a number of questions that come to mind as to why the Coroner would refuse to release the information, but interfering with the on-going criminal investigation is not one of them.

In fact, Carver already has released selective information about Lanza’s autopsy, which begs the question – what is in the autopsy that obviously has put the Medical Examiner on the wrong side of Connecticut law and the wishes of Newtown residents?

In the end, it’s a simple question posed by those who lived through the nightmare. Was Adam Lanza on or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs at the time of the shooting? The information is available. What’s the secret?

–

Kelly Patricia O’Meara is an award winning investigative reporter for the Washington Times, Insight Magazine, penning dozens of articles exposing the fraud of psychiatric diagnosis and the dangers of the psychiatric drugs – including her ground-breaking 1999 cover story, Guns & Doses, exposing the link between psychiatric drugs and acts of senseless violence. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed book, Psyched Out: How Psychiatry Sells Mental Illness and Pushes Pills that Kill. Prior to working as an investigative journalist, O’Meara spent sixteen years on Capitol Hill as a congressional staffer to four Members of Congress. She holds a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Maryland.

Drugs that could combat ageing and help people to live to 150-years-old may be available within five years, following landmark research.

The new drugs are synthetic versions of resveratrol which is found in red wine and is believed to have an anti-ageing effect as it boosts activity of a protein called SIRT1.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has been testing the medications on patients suffering with medical conditions including cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

The work proves that a single anti-ageing enzyme in the body can be targeted, with the potential to prevent age-related diseases and extend lifespans.

As each of the 117 drugs tested work on the single enzyme through a common mechanism is means that a whole new class of anti-ageing drugs is now viable, which could ultimately prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and type 2 diabetes.

Genetics professor David Sinclair, based at Harvard University, said: ‘Ultimately, these drugs would treat one disease, but unlike drugs of today, they would prevent 20 others.

‘In effect, they would slow ageing.’

The target enzyme, SIRT1, is switched on naturally by calorie restriction and exercise, but it can also be enhanced through activators.

A school participating in Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s controversial voucher program is apparently using a history book that teaches its eighth-grade students that “hippies” were dirty followers of Satan-worshipping rock musicians.

The textbook, “America: Land I Love,” includes a section on the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

Many young people turned to drugs and immoral lifestyles; these youth became known as hippies. They went without bathing, wore dirty, ragged, unconventional clothing, and deliberately broke all codes of politeness or manners. Rock music played an important part in the hippie movement and had great influence over the hippies. Many of the rock musicians they followed belonged to Eastern religious cults or practiced Satan worship.

It’s not clear which school is using the aforementioned textbook. John Aravosis, who published the text on AmericaBlog, said the source was “a friend” who sent him a photo of the section.

Low-income parents seeking federal assistance would be forced to sign away their Fourth Amendment rights under a bill proposed last week by Republican Rep. Stephen Fincher of Tennessee.

The Welfare Integrity Act of 2013 would require applicants for and recipients of assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to sign a waiver of their constitutional rights and submit to random drug tests. The program helps poor families with children pay for living expenses such as rent, heat, utilities and personal care items.

“Currently the federal government enables drug abusers a safety-net by allowing them to participate in the TANF program,” Fincher said Monday in a statement. “Instead of having to make the hard-choice between drugs and other essential needs, abusers are able to rely on their monthly check to help them pay their bills.”

THIS is what we warned you about – and the TRUE Hegelian “Solution” to the Gun / Violence “Problem”. There is no trial, no jurors, no justice … Just whatever it takes to weed out “bad machines” (who are many times brilliant artists and free thinkers) using the excuse of “public Safety” – Stalin would have been proud! (sorry for all that Orwellian newspeak quotation marks!)

In its latest Big Brother endeavor, New York City has begun a program to round up the city’s mentally ill and ensure they are taking their court-ordered medications. The New York Postreports that police will be armed with a list of the most-wanted mentally ill and a tracking system, and will force those deemed ill to go to a hospital.

The new policy comes as a result of two recent subway deaths in which the victims were pushed onto the train tracks by mentally ill suspects.

“After the Queens subway attack, the [city] decided to take a proactive approach to track down the most dangerous mental-health patients that currently have mental-hygiene warrants” out for them, one law enforcement official said in the Post report.

The first incident involved a homeless man named Naeem Davis, who cited different motives for his pushing a complete stranger onto the tracks, including voices in his head and being angry at the loss of his favorite boots.

The second case involved assailant Erika Menendez, who targeted an Iranian man based on her misguided political convictions. She told the police that she targeted Sunando Sen and pushed him in front of an oncoming 7 train in Queens because she “hated Hindus and Muslims since 2001 since they put down the Twin Towers.” She added, “I have been beating them up since.”

There are currently 25 names on the most-wanted list of mentally ill. The process involves the issuance of a specific type of warrant that permits the police to arrest individuals, even if they have not committed a crime, simply for not attending court-ordered therapy.

The arrest warrants the police are pursuing do not mean the targets are wanted for crimes, but rather for avoiding court-ordered mental-health treatment, according to the Post. Police in the city’s Real Time Crime Center are tasked with the roundup using advanced technology. Once tracked down, the suspects then will be forcibly taken by detectives to hospitals for treatment.

A handful of police officers are currently assigned to the new policy, which began a few weeks ago. The program is a variation of an older policy. The New York Post explains:

In the past, the city Department of Health would ask cops for help finding mentally ill people who aren’t taking their court-mandated meds so they could be taken to clinics. But that only applied to those who had known addresses — and patients who went off the grid were rarely pursued, the sources said.

The city is now concerned it could be liable if one of those people goes off the rails and hurts someone — or themselves, the sources said.

The Health Department fears that these mentally ill patients could be dangerous. Now, “you have a family member who goes to the Department of Health and gives them the information. Then they go to the Police Department, and together, the DOH person and the police go out and try to track down these people,” said a city official. “They’re just trying to get these people help.”

“All of these patients are receiving treatment for mental-health conditions,” said Department of Health spokesman Sam Miller. “If they do not receive sustained treatment … they could pose some risk to themselves, family members or others.”

The policy has attracted criticism from civil libertarians who view it as unconstitutional government overreach.

According to Judge Andrew Napolitano, the policy is “clearly unconstitutional because the Constitution says the only way you can arrest someone is if you see them committing a crime or a probable cause to believe they have committed, not are going to commit, but have committed a crime.”

Regarding the mentally ill, Napolitano contends that only very specific exceptions can be made to those criteria. “Only those who are mentally ill and are in imminent danger of harm to themselves and others can be in the category of candidates for arrest. Anything short of that, the person cannot be arrested without an order from a judge,” he explained.

“That’s why we have a Second Amendment. So we can protect ourselves,” said Napolitano.

Napolitano sums up the constitutional dilemma created by the policy.

“We do not have a system of government that lets the government predict who’s going to do the wrong thing and arrest them before they do it,” Napolitano concludes. “The police should be there to keep us safe, the MTA should operate subways and subway platforms that are safe, but you can’t arrest groups of people because of what some 1 or 2 amongst their number are likely to do. That’s what they did in Eastern Europe and we overthrew those governments.”

Additionally, some critics are concerned by the forced issuance of psychotropic drugs and assert that they do not necessarily correct mental illness but exacerbate it.

Throughout the last decade, a number of notorious school shooters have been found to be either on or withdrawing from antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), including Columbine shooter Eric Harris, who was taking the powerful Luvox; Jeffrey Weise, who killed 10 students at Red Lake High School while on Prozac; and Kip Kinkel, who, during Prozac withdrawal, killed his parents and then went on a shooting spree at his high school.

“In virtually every mass school shooting during the past 15 years, the shooter has been on or in withdrawal from psychiatric drugs,” writes Lawrence Hunter of the Social Security Institute. “Yet, federal and state governments continue to ignore the connection between psychiatric drugs and murderous violence, preferring instead to exploit these tragedies in an oppressive and unconstitutional power grab to snatch guns away from innocent, law-abiding people.”

The connection between psychiatric drugs and violence is not limited to school shootings, but has also been seen in the high-profile cases of John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, and Ted Kaczynski, the “Unabomber,” who killed three and injured 23.

Meanwhile, those enforcing New York’s new policy are concerned about the logistics of the scheme, most notably that it will be difficult to track down the homeless on the most-wanted list. “There’s no rhyme or reason to their craziness,” a law enforcement source told the Post.

Federal agents have arrested ten police officers who worked in the metro Atlanta area for their alleged involvement in “multiple drug transactions” where they “took thousands in drug payoffs.” Five civilians were also apprehended as the result of a yearlong undercover operation investigating public corruption.

At a press conference this afternoon, United States Attorney Sally Yates said that officers were charged a range of offenses. Officers involved worked for a number of police departments, including Atlanta, Forest Park, DeKalb County, Stone Mountain, MARTA, and the DeKalb Sheriff’s Office.

Atlanta Police spokesman Carlos Campos said in a statement that Senior Police Officer Kelvin Allen was a 20-year veteran who recently patrolled in Zone 6.

“The revelation of an Atlanta Police officer’s alleged involvement in a federal drug trafficking sting is disturbing, said Campos. “The Department has been, and will continue to be, cooperative with federal authorities to ensure that Atlanta Police officers involved in any illegal activity are brought to justice. Officers are held to the highest levels of accountability, and this alleged conduct violates our standards.”

MARTA Officer Marquez Holmes had served with the transit agency’s police department for a decade. Spokeswoman Cara Hodgson added that MARTA “will not tolerate corruption in its ranks” and will fully cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s investigation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives worked together throughout this operation, which began as they looked into a local street gang’s drug trafficking. Agents uncovered the corruption early in the case and proceeded to follow police who were offering protection, security, and vehicle escorts for large cocaine transactions. Yates said payoffs were as high as $7,000.

She also went on to describe accounts of “dirty cops” who wore their uniforms, drove patrol cars, and carried their issued firearms while assisting in drug transactions. The officers involved were a combination of men and women, some of whom ranked “as high as sergeant.” She added that the civilians arrested today served as middlemen who in some cases helped recruit the police officers.

In addition, she called the corruption “very disturbing” and “abhorrent,” but insisted that it was not symbolic of the way thousands of other honest cops in the metro area conduct their work.

UPDATE, 4:23 p.m.: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution just posted a press release from Yates’ office that details the allegations, which you can find after the jump.

DeKalb County Police DepartmentBetween October 2011 and November 2011, DeKalb County Police Officer Dennis Duren, working together with Bass, provided protection for what he and Bass believed were four separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. Duren and Bass accepted cash payments totaling $8,800 for these services. During the transactions, Duren was dressed in his DeKalb County Police uniform and carried a gun in a holster on his belt, as he patrolled on foot in the parking lots in which the undercover sales took place. After the first two transactions, Duren allegedly offered to drive his patrol vehicle to future transactions for an additional $800 fee, and afterward received an additional $800 in cash for using his patrol vehicle in the final transaction in November 2011. Duren and Bass are each charged with conspiring to commit extortion by accepting bribe payments and attempted possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. Duren also is charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Between January and February 2013, DeKalb County Police Officer Dorian Williams, working together with Mannery and Bass, provided protection for what he and Mannery believed were three separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. Williams and Mannery accepted cash payments totaling $18,000 for these services. During the transactions, Williams was dressed in his DeKalb County Police uniform and carried a gun in a holster on his belt, and he patrolled the parking lots in which the undercover sales took place in his DeKalb Police vehicle. During a meeting between the three transactions, Williams allegedly instructed Bass to remove any cocaine from the scene if Williams had to shoot someone during the upcoming sale. In another meeting, Williams suggested that future drug transactions should take place in the parking lot of a local high school during the afternoon, so that the exchange of backpacks containing drugs and money would not look suspicious. Williams and Mannery are each charged with conspiring to commit extortion by accepting bribe payments and attempted possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.

Stone Mountain Police Department

Between April and September 2012, Stone Mountain Police Officer Denoris Carter, working together with Mannery, provided protection for what he and Mannery believed were five separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. For these services, Carter and Mannery accepted cash payments totaling $23,500. For all five transactions, Carter dressed in his Stone Mountain Police uniform. In four of the deals, he arrived in his police cruiser and either patrolled or parked in the parking lots in which the undercover sales took place and watched the transactions. During the final transaction in September 2012, Carter was on foot, displaying a firearm in a holster on his belt, and he walked through the parking lot in which the transaction took place and watched the participants. Finally, during one of the transactions, Carter agreed to escort the purchaser of the sham cocaine in his police vehicle for several miles, until the purchaser reached Highway 78. Carter is charged with conspiring to commit extortion by accepting bribe payments, attempted possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Atlanta Police Department

Between June and August 2012, Atlanta Police officer Kelvin D. Allen, working together with Coss, provided protection for what he and Coss believed were three separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. Allen and Coss accepted cash payments totaling $10,500 for their services. For two transactions, Allen dressed in his Atlanta Police uniform and carried a gun in a holster on his belt. Allen patrolled on foot in parking lots in which the undercover sales took place and appeared to be monitoring the transactions. During a meeting after the three transactions, a cooperator gave Allen and Coss each a $1,000 bonus payment in return for protecting the three transactions. Allen and Coss are each charged with conspiring to commit extortion by accepting bribe payments and attempted possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. Allen also is charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

MARTA Police Department

Between August and November 2012, MARTA Police Department Officer Marquez Holmes, working together with Coss, provided protection for what he and Coss believed were four separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. For these services, Holmes and Coss accepted cash payments totaling $9,000. During the transactions, Holmes was dressed in his MARTA Police uniform and carried a gun in a holster on his belt. In two of the transactions, Holmes patrolled on foot in the parking lots in which the undercover sales took place and monitored the transactions. During the other two deals, Holmes drove to the site in his MARTA police cruiser and parked next to the vehicles in which the undercover drug sale took place. Holmes is charged with conspiring to commit extortion by accepting bribe payments, attempted possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Forest Park Police Department

Between October to December 2012, Forest Park Police Sergeants Victor Middlebrook and Andrew Monroe, sometimes working alone and at other times together, provided protection for what they believed were six separate drug deals in the Atlanta area, all involving multiple kilograms of cocaine. For his services in the first four transactions, Middlebook accepted cash payments totaling $13,800. During these transactions, Middlebrook wore plain clothes, but displayed his badge and a firearm in a holster on his belt. He patrolled on foot in the parking lots nearby the vehicles in which the undercover sales took place and appeared to be monitoring the transactions. For the final two transactions, both Middlebrook and Monroe provided security and were given cash payments totaling $10,400. Middlebrook again monitored the transactions on foot in plain clothes while displaying his badge and gun, while Monroe watched from his vehicle in the parking lot and afterward escorted the purchaser of the sham cocaine for several miles. Middlebrook and Monroe are charged with conspiring to commit extortion by accepting bribe payments and attempted possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine; Middlebrook is also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office

In January 2013, former DeKalb County Sheriff Jail Officer Monyette McLaurin, working together with Harvey, provided protection for what they believed were two separate drug transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. Harvey already had provided security for two undercover drug transactions in December 2012, falsely representing that he was a DeKalb County detention officer and wearing a black shirt with the letters “SHERIFF” printed across the back during the transactions. Harvey then stated that he knew other police officers who wanted to protect drug deals, and in January 2013 he introduced McLaurin as one of these officers. During a meeting to discuss future drug transactions, McLaurin falsely represented that he was a deputy employed by the DeKalb Sheriff’s office, even though his position as a jail officer ended in 2011. McLaurin and Harvey further stated during this meeting that they may need to kill another person who knew that Harvey had protected drug deals, if this person reported the activity to others.

During the two transactions in January 2013, McLaurin was dressed in a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office uniform with a badge, and he carried a gun in a holster on his belt. He accompanied the undercover seller of the cocaine to pick up the drugs from a warehouse, counted the kilograms the seller received, and stood outside the purchaser’s vehicle during the actual transaction. He further discussed with the seller whether they should agree upon a signal for the seller to indicate that the sale had gone awry, requiring McLaurin to shoot the drug buyer. For their services, McLaurin and Harvey were paid $12,000 in cash. McLaurin and Harvey are each charged with attempted possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Later in January 2013, McLaurin and Harvey introduced a second former DeKalb County Sheriff’s Jail Officer, Chase Valentine, to help provide security for future drug deals. Like McLaurin, Valentine falsely represented himself to be a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy, even though his position as a jail officer ended in 2010. Together with Harvey, Valentine provided security for one undercover drug transaction on January 17, 2013, during which he wore a DeKalb Sheriff’s Office uniform and a pistol in a holster on his belt. During the transaction, Valentine escorted the seller to pick up the sham cocaine, counted the number of kilograms delivered, and stood outside the purchaser’s car during the actual transaction. For these services, Valentine received $6,000 in cash. Valentine is charged with attempted possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Federal Protective Services

In November 2012, Sharon Peters, who was a contract officer for the Federal Protective Services, worked together with Mannery to provide protection for what they believed were two separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. For these services, Peters and Mannery accepted cash payments totaling $14,000. For both transactions, Peters parked her vehicle nearby the cars where the sham drugs and money were exchanged, and watched the transactions. Before both transactions, Peters told others that she had her pistol with her in the car. Peters is charged with attempted possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Imposter Clayton County Police Officer

Between December 2012 and January 2013, Alexander B. Hill falsely represented himself to be an officer with the Clayton County Police Department while providing security for what he believed were three separate drug transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. During an initial meeting, Hill wore a uniform that appeared to be from Clayton Police, but during the transactions he wore plain clothes and, for at least the first deal, a badge displayed on his belt. For these services, Hill received payments totaling $9,000 in cash. Hill charged with attempted possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Note: This original version of this story has been edited in order to include additional information.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CBS St. Louis) — A Kansas City high school will begin collecting hair from students to conduct mandatory drug tests.

KHSB-TV reports that Rockhurst High School will start the random drug testing during the 2013-14 school year.

“Our point is, if we do encounter a student who has made some bad decisions with drugs or alcohol, we will be able to intervene, get the parents involved, get him help if necessary, and then help him get back on a path of better decision making, healthier choices for his life,” Rockhurst Principal Greg Harkness told the station.

Back in 2011, the Office of National Drug Control Policy released a list of strategies for combating prescription pill abuse. From a civil liberties standpoint, one strategy in particular stood out: “Identify and seek to remove administrative and regulatory barriers to ‘pill mill’ and prescriber investigations that impair investigations while not serving another policy goal.” Last year I wondered what the DEA and the ONDCP might do to “remove” barriers that are meant to protect patient privacy. The ACLU has an answer for us:

The Drug Enforcement Administration is trying to access private prescription records of patients in Oregon without a warrant, despite a state law forbidding it from doing so. The ACLU and its Oregon affiliate are challenging this practice in a new case that raises the question of whether the Fourth Amendment allows federal law enforcement agents to obtain confidential prescription records without a judge’s prior approval. It should not.

In 2009, the Oregon legislature created the Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), which tracks prescriptions for certain drugs dispensed by Oregon pharmacies, including all of the medications listed above. The program was intended to help physicians prevent drug overdoses by their patients and more easily recognize signs of drug abuse. Because the medical information revealed by these prescription records is highly sensitive, the legislature created robust privacy and security protections for the PDMP, including a requirement that law enforcement must obtain a warrant before requesting records for use in an investigation. But despite those protections, the DEA has been requesting prescription records from the PDMP using administrative subpoenas which, unlike warrants, do not involve demonstrating probable cause to a neutral judge.

Police officers from Mission, TX were paid by the Gulf Drug Cartel to safeguard cocaine shipments from Reynosa, Mexico into Texas.

valleycentral.com

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino officially disbanded a joint drug task force with Mission Police Department Monday. This comes after two of its members were arrested on drug charges in December. The special drug task force may no longer be in operation but Mission Police assure the public they will continue to fight to keep drugs off the street.

The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office-Mission Police Department’s street level drug unit, otherwise known as the Panama Unit was disbanded by Sheriff Lupe Trevino Monday morning. Created back in August 2010, the Panama Unit was supposed to be a way for the sheriff’s office to give extra resources to the Mission Police Department to get drugs off the streets in Mission and western Hidalgo County. “This has nothing to do with the relationship with the sheriff’s office,” Mission Police chief Martin Garza said. “We respect the decision made. We are going to continue working with the sheriff’s office in any type of other investigations and narcotic investigations as well.”

The unit was housed at the Mission Police Department and supervised by both the sheriff’s office and Mission Police. In December two of the unit’s members, including the sheriff’s son, Jonathan Trevino, were arrested by federal authorities on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Another two sheriff’s deputies are also facing charges. Prosecutors said the four accepted thousands of dollars in bribes to guard cocaine shipments.